Entrepreneur Alex Bean Inspires Students With Insights on Business, Risk, Success

Entrepreneur and investor Alex Bean spoke to students at a recent lecture for the Entrepreneurship Leadership Series, offering a deep dive into the highs and lows of building a billion-dollar company, the lessons he learned along the way, and the mindset needed for long-term success.

As the co-founder of Divvy, a financial technology company that was acquired for $2.5 billion in 2021, Bean shared his journey from idea to exit, along with practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

The event, part of an ongoing lecture series, attracted a packed room of students eager to gain insights from an entrepreneur who successfully navigated the startup world. Before Bean took the stage, the audience participated in a game of Two Truths and a Lie, learning fun facts about him, including his world record for playing pickleball for 24 hours straight.

The Road to Divvy’s Success

Bean’s story began in 2016 when his co-founder approached him with an idea to revolutionize corporate expense management. At the time, tracking business spending was inefficient, and Bean saw an opportunity to combine expense management software with corporate credit cards. However, despite early enthusiasm, he admitted that their initial vision was flawed.

They originally planned for businesses to use digital-only payments, eliminating the need for physical credit cards. But after extensive customer feedback, they realized their approach wouldn’t work — many businesses still needed physical cards, especially for industries like travel and hospitality. Adjusting their strategy, Divvy pivoted and developed a new solution that fit their target market, leading to rapid adoption and product-market fit.

This lesson became a recurring theme in Bean’s talk: entrepreneurs must listen to their customers and be willing to adapt.

Lessons from the Startup Journey

Bean outlined three key lessons that helped him and his team scale Divvy into a billion-dollar company:

Find Product-Market Fit Before Anything Else

Bean emphasized that finding the right market for a product is the single most important factor in success. No amount of great marketing, smart hiring or efficient execution can save a business that doesn’t have a product people truly want. He advised students to test their ideas by going directly to their target customers rather than relying on feedback from family and friends.

Be Ready for the Emotional Roller Coaster

Scaling a business is anything but smooth. Bean recalled moments when he felt like they had built a billion-dollar company, only to be looking for new jobs the following week when major deals fell through. He shared how Divvy had a major partnership with U.S. Bank that collapsed overnight — an event that could have sunk the company. But instead of panicking, he and his team worked through the weekend, lined up new partnerships, and found a path forward.

Success is About the Team

A great company is built by great people. Bean advised students to surround themselves with driven, talented, and adaptable teammates. He also stressed the importance of being self-aware: knowing whether you thrive as a leader, a specialist or a behind-the-scenes operator can help align career choices with personal strengths.

To illustrate this, he used a metaphor from The Boys in the Boat, comparing high-performing teams to rowing teams — every member has a role, and a team functions best when everyone is in the right seat.

Beyond Business: Finding Fulfillment

After selling Divvy, Bean found himself reflecting on what truly brings happiness. He conducted interviews with hundreds of successful people — including billionaires, entrepreneurs and executives — to understand what drives fulfillment beyond financial success.

He identified three key ingredients:

• Purpose: Having a meaningful project or goal that provides motivation.
• Relationships: Strong personal connections that keep life fulfilling beyond work.
• Legacy: Creating something that makes a lasting impact on the world.

Without these, he noted, even the most financially successful people often feel empty.

Bean’s lecture was more than just a story about building a billion-dollar company — it was a blueprint for students to think strategically about their careers and aspirations. He encouraged them to be intentional about where they work, treat their careers like venture capitalists evaluating a company, and focus on developing their own unique superpowers that set them apart in the workplace.

As the event wrapped up, students walked away with a better understanding of entrepreneurship, career strategy and the reality of what it takes to build something great.